BlogElul Day 4: Choose

Much of the time during this month of Elul is spent working to analyze – honestly and clearly, without bias or excuse – who have we been this past year; is that who we wanted to be; who do we aspire to become in the coming year; and how do we get from “here” to “there”.

But there’s an essential question at the heart of all that – by what metric do we determine who we are?

I would submit to you that our choices define, for better or worse and regardless of our aspirations, who we are. Did we choose to love, to listen, to accept, to welcome, to forgive? Did we choose to ignore, to dismiss, to disrespect? Did we think we could stay out of trouble by choosing not to choose?

Speaking from the tech side for a moment: Too often over this last year, we’ve heard companies invoke the mantra, “that’s not who we are”. And almost with a single voice, we who have been working in IT for years and even decades have retorted, “clearly it IS who you are, because that’s what you did.”

What is obvious when it’s a monolithic tech giant is far less comfortable to see in ourselves. And yet, her we are.

So take a moment and choose to quiet your mind, to step away from the mad cacophony of voices vying for your attention, and look with candor at your choices. It may be uncomfortable. In fact, I can almost guarantee it will be. But in the end, if you have nothing else to show for it, at least this year you will begin to become someone who chooses mindfully.